


The Strange and Wondrous Life of Duke Crocker

by Morgane (smilla840)



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: F/M, It's therapeutic, M/M, Multi, Spoilers for the season 2 finale, What would they do without Audrey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-16
Updated: 2012-07-16
Packaged: 2017-11-10 02:59:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/461492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smilla840/pseuds/Morgane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The up-and-downs of Duke’s relationship with Nathan and how Audrey changed that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Strange and Wondrous Life of Duke Crocker

**Author's Note:**

> This picks up where season 2 left off – call it therapy :) I tried to stick as close to canon as possible but I find some of the timeline on the show a bit disconcerting so I ended up making up a few things to fill the gaps. 
> 
> Warnings: spoilers up to season 2’s finale, brief allusions to domestic abuse

This is the story of a boy who meets another boy.

 

Duke Crocker meets Nathan Wuornos on their first day of school. Of course Nathan is not called Wuornos back then but in the grand scheme of things that doesn’t really matter. Not once Duke has decided Nathan is going to be his best friend and Duke – even at 5 – is a force to be reckoned with.

To be quite honest Duke probably wouldn’t have paid any particular attention to Nathan if they hadn’t been the only two kids left with their teacher at the end of the day. Nathan is a quiet little boy back then, trying hard not to get noticed, and Duke is your average five year old – not particularly attentive to those who stubbornly refuse to interact with him.

But on that first afternoon, after all the parents have come and picked their children up and it’s only the two of them left, Duke looks at Nathan with renewed interest. He isn’t all that worried about his mom not showing up; he is used to being left alone and besides he’d much rather look at all the books in the classroom than go home. 

He likes looking at the pictures and making up stories about pirates and treasures (no princesses though because girls are stupid). It’s even better when there is someone to tell the stories to and Nathan, quiet as he is, is the perfect audience. So Duke chatters away as he turns the pages and Nathan doesn’t say much of anything for the longest time – until he does, pointing out what he feels is a major flaw in Duke’s reasoning.

That is, cookies make a very bad treasure. They’d get all wet and soggy if they stayed in the water too long. Marbles would work much better.

Duke blinks at him, too taken aback by the fact that Nathan actually _spoke_ to feel annoyed, and just rolls with it – he is nothing if not adaptable. Besides it’s more fun that way.

Unfortunately Mrs. Cairns isn’t as happy with the situation as they are. She takes one last look at the clock and mutters “Oh dear” before shepherding them to the principal’s office to call their parents.

It turns out Nathan’s mom is on her way, having been delayed by a minor accident. Duke’s parents are unreachable. He shrugs and goes back to what’s now _their_ story, and he and Nathan are completely engrossed by the time Nathan’s mom shows up. She has bruises on her face and her arm is in a cast, Duke remembers. He also remembers how the light goes out of Nathan at the sight, turning him back into the quiet boy he had been ‘til thirty minutes ago.

That day is also the day Duke’s mom leaves Haven for good and he has to spend the rest of the day and most of the night at the police station waiting for his dad to be located as there is no one else to look after him. But whenever he thinks about that day he mostly remembers Nathan. 

Life’s funny that way.

 

Yes, this is the story of a boy who meets another boy but then life happens and gets in the way.

\---

There is a tattoo on Nathan’s forearm.

Scratch that.

 _The_ freaking tattoo is on _Nathan_ ’s forearm.

For a second Duke forgets the gun, forgets Nathan’s accusations – he even forgets about Audrey and just stares.

“What the –” he starts saying, unthinkingly reaching out to make sure his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him – hey, he’s just spent the day talking to his dead father, a guy is allowed to want to make sure.

But then it’s never a good idea to make sudden movements in the direction of someone who’s pointing a gun at you – and Duke knows that, damn it, but it’s the tattoo and Nathan and that combination is screwing with his well-honed survival instincts – and before he knows what’s happened Nathan’s flinching away from him, his finger tightening (involuntarily?) on the trigger.

The shot is loud, echoing off the hull of the ship.

“Ow,” Duke says, uncomprehendingly.

He stares down at his arm and at the blood that’s marring his own tattoo. And then the pain hits and he swears, grabbing his arm to put pressure on the wound and looking up at Nathan accusingly.

“You shot me! I can’t believe you actually shot me!”

To be fair, it’s just a graze and Nathan is looking as dumbfounded as Duke is feeling but Duke really doesn’t care about Nathan’s feelings right now, not when his own are a mix of disbelief and anger and betrayal and just plain _hurt_.

Nathan freaking _shot_ him!

“I –” Nathan trails off, looking at a complete loss as he puts his gun down and tries to reach for him but Duke won’t have any of it.

“But hey, look, I’m still breathing. Want to give it another shot?” He pushes himself up, trying not to bleed all over the floor – blood is hell to get out of wood – and rummages around for one of the first-aid kits he’s got stashed away around his place. “Oh and Nathan, by the way, _what the fuck is that tattoo doing on your arm_?”

“Duke –” Nathan tries again but Duke is on a roll. And the recalcitrant child lock on the kit isn’t helping his mood.

“Why won’t that thing open? I’m bleeding here!” He glares at the box until it finally cooperates and, victorious, transfers that glare to Nathan for a brief moment before examining the contents of the box. “I mean, sure, we’ve had our up-and-downs but doesn’t everyone? I thought we were friends again! I’m your back-up, man –”

“Will you just –”

“You can’t kill your back-up! Besides Audrey likes me, she’d be mad if you killed me. And you don’t want to make Audrey mad, do you?”

“Damn it, Duke, _will you let me do that_?”

Nathan’s outburst throws Duke off his perfectly good rant and he looks up from where he’s been bandaging his arm one-handedly – not one of his neatest works, he’ll admit – to squint at Nathan.

“Uh?”

Nathan takes advantage of Duke’s bewilderment to push him down into a chair and take over bandaging duty, his movements brusque and impatient as he undoes Duke’s hard work and starts over. Duke would complain – he can actually feel pain, you know? – but then there is the way Nathan is standing just a little too close, the way his hands are shaking ever so slightly. Duke forgets he’s supposed to be mad, powerless as he always is when Nathan’s control slips enough for him to show that he actually gives a damn about Duke – not one of Duke’s finest personality traits (if he says so himself) and something he should probably try harder to overcome, but then he wouldn’t be half head over heels in love with the man, would he? 

The boat is unnaturally quiet as Nathan bandages Duke’s arm and Duke closes his eyes, the pain a dull relentless throb that’s making him slightly nauseous. Soon enough Nathan’s done although he still hovers next to Duke, as if unsure of what to do with himself. Duke can physically _feel_ his uncharacteristically jittery presence next to him even before he blinks his eyes open and finds a painkiller to swallow.

And then Nathan just has to open his big mouth.

“Where is Audrey?”

All the hurt masquerading as anger rushes back in and Duke grits his teeth, trying to keep it under wrap. This conversation already got him shot once this evening, he’s not looking forward to a repeat.

“How should I know?” he asks.

“I found your necklace at Audrey’s. Her place was ransacked and she’s missing.”

“So what? You think I _kidnapped_ her?” Duke can’t help it, he laughs. The mere idea of him kidnapping Audrey is actually quite entertaining. For one he’s pretty sure he would end up on his ass were he to ever try. And second he’d like to think that Audrey would come with him if he asked, thus negating the need to actually do any kidnapping.

The look on Nathan’s face however is like a bucket of cold water.

“Christ, you _do_ think I did something to her.” Duke stands – he has to physically put some distance between him and Nathan before he does something he’ll regret. “I can’t believe you. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Look, Duke, your necklace was –”

“So what? I could have left it there any time! Or better yet, someone could have put it there! Both very plausible options that should have come to your mind before ‘Duke’s kidnapped Audrey’. She’s my _friend_. Are you that insecure? Or do you really think that little of me – wait, what was I thinking?” Duke shakes his head with a bitter laugh, “of course you do.”

He reaches under the table for his gun, unable not to notice how it makes Nathan tense and reaches towards his empty holster.

That hurts too.

Duke tucks his gun into the back of his jeans and shoots a longing look towards his scotch – later, he promises himself – before grabbing his jacket and heading for the door.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he says when he notices Nathan is still frozen on his spot.

“What are you doing?” Nathan asks hesitantly.

“Audrey’s missing. Let’s go, we have to find her.”

That gets Nathan moving and Duke watches impassively as he retrieves his gun.

“And Nathan?” Duke says in a clipped tone as Nathan moves past him. “After we find her? We’re done. If you need help with something, you don’t come to me. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

Nathan looks back at him for what feels like a long time before he jerks his head down once and heads out. Duke nods to himself and follows.

And that is it.

\---

For two years you never see Duke without Nathan. They spend hours exploring the docks, getting into trouble with the harbor master for ending up places they shouldn’t be. When that loses its appeal they move on to the rest of Haven and the town smiles indulgently at their antics, providing them with essentials such as ice creams and cookies.

The only ones who don’t seem to approve are their fathers but Nathan’s dad – new dad, that is, but then they don’t remember that either – never does come out and say anything against it and Duke’s dad is never around anyway.

When they’re in third grade everything changes.

The troubles come.

Duke, oh he couldn’t care less about that. In fact he thinks it’s _awesome_ that Nathan can’t feel anything. It’s like he has a superpower – Nathan… Nathan is like Superman! 

But Nathan doesn’t exactly share his enthusiasm. He thinks he is a freak and the doctor doesn’t help, forbidding him to do anything fun because he might get hurt and make it worst by not being able to feel it. 

Slowly Nathan withdraws from everyone, withdraws from Duke, and Duke is so angry with him for not listening that he decides he’s going to show Nathan that _he_ knows better.

The plan is simple enough. He knows Nathan likes Carla Rose. All he has to do is distract Nathan by telling him that she likes him too while the others pin the note to his back. She’s going to see the note, be all impressed by Nathan not feeling it and being all strong and stuff (girls like that, right?) and Nathan is going to realize how cool his powers are. And it’s not like it’s going to hurt him anyway, right?

Of course that plan backfires spectacularly. When Carla Rose screams at first Duke thinks she is just being a girl and stupid, like the one time he showed Julia Carr a frog, except there is blood everywhere and Nathan is looking at him like he did something bad and Duke doesn’t understand what’s going on.

It’s only later when an ambulance has come to get Nathan and he is being yelled at by Mrs. Mitchell that he finally gets it. Nathan isn’t Superman. He may not feel anything but he can still get hurt. Can still bleed. And it’s Duke who did that to him.

 

Nathan doesn’t speak to another girl for the next two years. 

He doesn’t speak to Duke for the next three. 

\---

In the end Audrey doesn’t need rescuing because she rescues herself – that’s what Audrey does. Duke’s a bit hazy on the details but he’s in the car with Nathan – both of them busy ignoring the other in glacial silence – when she calls and asks him to pick her up. 

They find her in the middle of nowhere, determinedly walking her way back towards town. She looks a little worse for wear but Duke can’t stop a smile from breaking out. She sure is a sight for sore eyes.

Nathan’s out of the car like a flash, Duke following at a more sedate pace. He’s tired and cranky and his arm is hurting again. Also Audrey and Nathan are kissing.

Fantastic.

“Can we go now?” he asks loudly. He needs his bed. And a painkiller. And a bottle of scotch. Not necessarily in that order.

“Duke.” Audrey frowns a little as she finally tears her eyes away from Nathan to take in his appearance, complete with a blood-stained bandage. “What happened to your arm?”

You know what? Duke’s had enough. Not getting involved is going to be fantastically relaxing, he can’t wait to start.

“Why don’t you ask your _boyfriend_?” he snaps and stalks back towards the car, getting into the backseat and slamming the door behind him.

“Can we go now?” he yells when Audrey and Nathan make no move to follow, staring at him in confusion – or very deliberately _not_ staring in Nathan’s case.

His outburst finally gets them moving and Duke mutters _“Finally”_ to himself, ruing the fact that he’s got to share the car with the two lovebirds for the ride back.

To his surprise Audrey gets in the back with him instead of sitting next to Nathan and Duke clenches his jaw tight, resolutely staring out of the window.

“Are you okay?” Audrey’s question is quiet over the sound of the motor and Duke rolls his eyes.

“Fantastic,” he snarks because really what kind of a question is that? To recap, he’s just found out his family’s been murdering people for generations and is expecting him to keep that fire burning, he’s actually _killed_ someone today, inadvertently as it might have been, and one of his friends apparently got kidnapped. Oh, and his _other_ friend shot him.

He’s doing great.

“Duke.”

He can’t help it, he turns away from the window to look at her – like a moth to the flame and just as dangerous – and finds that he can’t lie to her. Never could.

“Not really,” he finally answers, tearing his gaze away from her too-understanding one. His eyes unconsciously seek out Nathan in the rear view mirror and he has to force himself to look away from him too.

“Yeah, I know that feeling,” Audrey says and just like that Duke finds his resolve melting.

Damn it.

“Will you be okay though?” she asks and Duke can’t quite give in without a fight. So he forces out a grin.

“Aren’t I always?” he says with false bravado and Audrey sees right through him. Yes, she’s dangerous, that one.

She doesn’t even have to say anything this time, just looks at him steadily until he swallows and then shrugs.

“I’ll be fine.”

But then he’s Duke Crocker. He makes do.

\---

By the time they’re 11 the troubles are gone again and Duke’s father is dead.

Truth be told Duke isn’t all that beaten up about it. His father wasn’t exactly a warm and caring man – what little Duke saw of him was either bloody or drunk or both. He’s more pissed by the fact they won’t let him live on his own – he’s 11, he isn’t a baby! Besides he’s been looking after himself for years, he doesn’t need anyone.

His foster parents make him join Little League. Duke would protest but that would mean actually talking to them so he goes, dragging his feet. At least it gets him out of the house.

And Nathan – newly back to normal as he is – is there too. He kind of has to speak to Duke then, if only because Duke sucks at baseball as much as he does and as a result the coach partners them up during practice more often than not. 

Little by little things gets better until they’re actually civil to one another. It’s not how it was before but it’s something and Duke will take what he can get.

 

Years go by. High school is a strange time for Duke: Emma Prescott makes his heart beat a little faster whenever he passes her in the hallway but then so does Kevin Craig. And Nathan. But he rolls with it and keeps that last part to himself. He knows what he can and can’t have and Nathan’s got a girlfriend.

By the time he is 18 Duke has plans. Big ones. As soon as he graduates he’s going to travel the world. He’s been saving for it for years, every penny of every small job he’s ever done, and he’s finally got enough. And it’s not like there is anything in Haven worth staying for: the few friends he does have will be going away to college in a few months and Duke… well Duke isn’t interested in college. He doesn’t want to sit around in classrooms all day and learn from books – he’s had his share of that at school. No, he wants to be out there and do things his own way.

And so three days after graduation he does just that. He packs a bag and leaves. He never thinks he won’t come back – even if he hadn’t made that stupid promise to his father years ago Haven is home. In five or ten years he’ll be back, full of tales of adventures while all his old acquaintances will be living boring little lives.

He doesn’t plan on becoming a smuggler but then sometimes people can unexpectedly change your life.

Duke meets Peter and Nadia in Vietnam. They’ve been married for ten years and they’re wicked smart, know everything there is to know about history and art and ancient artifacts. They’re also smugglers. To Duke’s young eyes they’re the height of perfection.

Soon he’s got a crush the size of an elephant. He follows them around like a puppy and they accept him good-naturedly. He doesn’t ask himself why a pair of experienced smugglers would let a kid barely out of high school tag along with them. He probably should have. 

Six months later he’s whimpering into Nadia’s shoulder as Peter presses into him from behind, rocking him deeper into Nadia, and it hurts and it feels fantastic at the same time and Duke never wants it to stop. 

He gets one year.

One year of travelling across Asia, from Pakistan to Japan with a few back-and-forths to Europe, making love in dinky little boats and high-end hotel rooms. Wherever they go people often mistake them for a family. It’s convenient – after all you wouldn’t expect a nice family on a well-deserved holiday to be criminals, would you? It becomes a private joke, just as Nadia and Peter become Duke’s world. 

He hasn’t thought about going home in months. 

Were he older or more experienced in the affairs of the heart he would have known it wouldn’t last. They are married and more than 15 years his senior; it _couldn’t_ last. But then he is young and in love and so he doesn’t see it coming, not until he finds himself stranded on the Burmese coast with stolen goods in his possession and cops on his heels.

He barely escapes jail and for weeks he stubbornly holds on to the belief that it was just a misunderstanding. That there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the image now burned into his retina of their boat sailing away without him. Nadia and Peter are going to come back for him – any day now – and everything will be as it was before. He just has to wait a little longer.

Eventually Duke has to come to terms with the truth.

They left him behind and they’re not coming back.

He needs to start relying on himself. 

So he does what he knows best, what they taught him. He’s good at it after all. At least they made sure of that.

He thinks about home sometimes with a hint of longing but he doesn’t go back. Not yet.

Two years later he meets Evie and they con their way into each other’s heart. They get married after six months – it’s rash and impulsive and Duke really should know better than to fall for another con artist but he’s in love again and he believes that marrying Evie means she’ll never leave.

Wrong again.

\---

Duke spends the next couple of days holed up in his boat. When he wakes up in the middle of the afternoon on the third, hangover and strangely numb, he decides now is as good a time as any to take off. He could use some fresh air and the open sea has plenty of it.

He’s gone for a week and when he gets back the only message on his phone is from the Gull, something about a mix-up in deliveries.

Well, he thinks. That settles it.

It stings a little (a lot) that Audrey hasn’t tried to check on him but then maybe she had a case. And she’s got better things to do anyway – namely Nathan. And isn’t that something? The boy of his dreams and the girl of his dreams, together. Not that Duke thought he really had a shot with either of them – he tried it once with Nathan and didn’t that turn out splendidly? He had thought that with Audrey maybe… But then he only ever stood a chance so long as Nathan remained his aloof and distant self and how could he when faced with a determined Audrey? Duke really doesn’t blame him – not for that anyway.

It takes another week for the wonder twins to show up and really Duke would feel flattered by the fact that they can’t stay away – except they just _can’t stay away_. He’s fine with not being friends with Nathan, it’s really not the end of the world but it would really help if he didn’t have to see him.

“Duke?” Audrey sounds oddly hesitant when she calls out for him from the deck and Duke contemplates playing dead for a couple of seconds before thinking better of it.

He steps out onto the deck and yep, there is Audrey with Nathan hanging back, clearly unsure of his welcome – and rightly so. Duke ignores him and looks at Audrey instead – he’ll talk to her, that’s all.

“Audrey.”

“We need your help.”

Duke blinks at her and then bursts into laughter. He can’t help it, it’s just too funny.

“Oh, you need my help?” He glances at Nathan who is resolutely _not_ looking at him. “Because I’m so trustworthy, right?”

Audrey’s eyebrows go up. “Duke –”

“So what is it this time? Money launderers, stranded mermaids, what?”

“A kid’s missing,” Nathan cuts in.

“And you think I had something to do with it?” Duke sputters, affronted.

“No!” “Of course not!” Nathan and Audrey say at the same time and it’s good to know at least he’s got standards. Child kidnapping is a no-no but killing people and hurting Audrey are a distinct maybe.

Awesome.

“So what do you want from me?” he asks in clipped tones.

What they want involves being stuck in a car with Nathan on a surveillance gig, something Duke has a sneaky suspicion is Audrey’s plan to make them patch things up – a feeling later confirmed by the fact that Audrey finds the kid on her own and it turns out they’re watching an empty house.

But they don’t know that yet. Eventually Nathan clears his throat, looking as uncomfortable as Duke is feeling.

“How’s your arm?” he asks and of course Nathan would think that’s an appropriate icebreaker.

Did Audrey not brief him or something? 

“How’s the tattoo?” he replies and Nathan shifts in his seat, looking down at his arm.

“It’s gone,” he says, rubbing the spot absently. “Just disappeared one morning. Audrey thinks it might have something to do with bloodlines. Look, Duke… I’m not going to kill you. My –”

“Nathan,” Duke interrupts, “I don’t really care. So how about we _don’t_ talk?”

The thing is, he knows that Nathan isn’t going to kill him. Nathan’s a good man and the circumstances in which he would shoot Duke dead – irrational trouble-related behavior excluded – are pretty limited. Duke isn’t planning on ever giving him a reason.

Besides Duke’s starting to think there are dozens of people out there with that tattoo so what’s one more? At least he trusts Nathan, even if the feeling isn’t mutual.

“Look, Duke, I _am_ sorry, I was worried about Audrey and I didn’t think and –”

– and Duke really doesn’t want to hear this. But Nathan’s wearing that stubborn look of his and it figures that he would want to talk _now_. Why can’t he ever make things easy for Duke? 

“I get it, there, you’re forgiven,” he says, hoping it will shut Nathan up but instead it just seems to confuse him.

“Really?”

“Sure, you were worried about Audrey. We’re not friends, I know that. I’m a big boy, I can handle it.”

“That’s not what I –” Nathan protests but Duke cuts him up again cheerfully.

“Great, glad we understand one another.”

“Duke!”

 _Oh Buddha, make him shut up_ , Duke thinks frantically.

“Nathan, I swear if you don’t stop talking I will get out of the car.”

Nathan looks downright mutinous but he does shut up. It’s not the end of it though: Duke knows Nathan will want to revisit this conversation later as surely as he knows Nathan – and as he thought Nathan knew him. 

And that really is the crux of the matter, isn’t it? Duke would have forgiven Nathan for shooting him – that sort of things happens. Hell, he pulled a gun on the guy less than a month ago and he tried to shoot Evie at least twice during the course of their courtship. 

No, it’s the complete and utter lack of trust in Duke’s character that’s really getting to him. He had thought they were over that.

But then it would seem that some things never change.

\---

Duke comes back to Haven when the troubles start cropping up again. He’s not sure whether the timing is a coincidence or something weirder but it’s Haven so he’s not discounting the latter.

Nothing has changed, not really. The Chief still looks at him somewhat suspiciously, Eleanor tuts at him and tells him he needs to take better care of himself and Rosemary brings him cookies, the special kind she only ever bakes for him.

He wins a boat in a poker game, works a couple of jobs doing what he does best. It’s not that much of a surprise that the law would come and pay him a visit.

The fact that Nathan is the one to step on his boat isn’t one either.

Duke is weirdly glad to see him – and doubly so that he just ‘unburdened’ himself of his cargo as it might otherwise have led to some awkward questions, the kind he can’t answer and are usually followed by handcuffs and the like. Not that Duke is necessarily opposed to thinking about Nathan and handcuffs in the same sentence but that’s another matter entirely.

“Nathan Wuornos…” he says, leaning back in his chair and letting his eyes travel up and down appreciatively. It’s not subtle, he knows, but then it’s not supposed to be. Riling police officers up is something of a hobby of his. If it’s a little sincerer in Nathan’s case than it usually is, no one has to know. Because Nathan? Nathan looks _good_.

“Playing dress up in Daddy’s clothes?” Duke asks and Nathan rolls his eyes at him.

“Really? That’s all you could come up with?”

Oh, this is going to be fun. “I’m just getting started.”

Nathan shakes his head. “Some other time,” he says and Duke’s pretty sure he’s having to work to keep a straight face. Or not. It can be hard to tell with Nathan. “Got anything interesting in those boxes?”

“Nope. Want to take a look?”

Nathan raises a dubious eyebrow. “Are you _allowing_ me to search your boat, Duke?”

“Depends. Will you go fishing with me on Sunday?” Duke counters shamelessly.

“Sure.” Nathan’s agreement is easy and it’s Duke’s turn to look surprised. “The things I put myself through for the sake of upholding the law…” Nathan elaborates and Duke grins. 

Yes, that’s more like it.

“Then we have a deal. Go right ahead, I’ll supervise,” he says with a dismissive wave and settles down comfortably to watch Nathan work.

He might as well enjoy the view.

 

They take off early the next Sunday. Nathan’s still not much of a talker, that hasn’t changed, but Duke’s got enough mouth for the both of them. 

It doesn’t take long for his more outlandish stories to charm Nathan into incredulous laughter, which makes Duke feel inordinarily pleased with himself. It’s like being five, eight, eleven and eighteen all over again. It’s like having Nathan as a friend again.

Their fishing expeditions become something of a tradition, Nathan becoming less guarded each time. It’s probably not a good idea – Nathan is a cop, there is no way this can end well – but Duke is reckless enough that he doesn’t care, not when the sight of Nathan’s lips quirking upwards – there and gone in a flash – makes his heart trip over itself in his chest.

So Duke flirts because it’s what he does and because he actually wants to and once he’s started he finds that he can’t stop. Not when Nathan’s actually flirting back.

Nathan Wuornos… who would have thought?

Duke kisses Nathan on a Saturday afternoon somewhere off the coast of Maine. And although he kisses Nathan first Nathan is the one who pulls him closer, one of his hands cradling the back of his neck even as the other slips under his shirt to span over his lower back. 

Nathan’s mouth opens under his in a way that makes Duke groan as the kiss turns exploratory, almost lazy. It’s good – it’s great – and Duke wants _more_. 

“Fuck,” he pants against Nathan’s lips breathlessly before kissing him again and this time the kiss is possessive and hungry, full of promises of things to come. There is an urgency in Nathan’s hands as they grip his hips and guide him backwards into the cabin’s hull, in Nathan’s lips when they reclaim Duke’s, that says he either hasn’t gotten laid in a while or he has wanted this for about as long as Duke has, and call it vanity but Duke would rather think it’s the latter.

The blast of a siren at starboard makes them both jump.

“This is the coastguards –” the amplified voice begins and Duke bangs his head back against the hull.

“Fuck.” He really can’t believe this. “Can’t you get rid of them?” he asks plaintively and watches Nathan’s face close off even as he nods jerkily and pushes himself away from Duke.

He’s gone before Duke can figure out if he said something wrong. He dismisses the notion even as he hears the coastguards taking off – having Nathan around is so awesome – and grins at the man when he finally renters the cabin.

“Where were we?” he says teasingly and suddenly finds himself pinned again. Except it’s not the fun kind of pinning that had been going on just minutes ago. 

In fact it kind of hurts.

“Ow,” he protests.

“Is this funny to you?” Nathan asks. “Playing me for a fool?”

What?

“What?”

“You thought – what? That you’d sleep with me and I would cover for whatever operation you’ve got going on here? Is that it?”

Duke stares at him in consternation.

“What? No!” he says but his denial only makes Nathan let go of him as if he had been burned, backing away and turning on his heel.

Fuck, this is not good.

“Nathan, wait!” Duke calls out, scrambling to go after him. It’s completely irrational – they’re on a boat at sea, Nathan isn’t going anywhere, but for some reason Duke needs to explain, tell Nathan he got it all wrong.

He catches up with him on the deck and grabs his arm, not expecting Nathan to come back swinging. Which freaking _hurts_. Hitting back is instinctive and when Nathan staggers away from him Duke holds both hands up placatingly.

“Will you just _listen_ to me,” he tries again. His only answer is a fist in the stomach and after that Duke gives up trying. If Nathan wants to brawl, they can brawl. He’ll get it out of his system and then they can have a civilized conversation.

So they beat each other up until they’re both winded and bloody. They beat each other up until Duke feels like every inch of his body is bruised and aching. Nathan though? 

Nathan can’t feel a thing.

\---

Audrey shows up a couple of hours after the kid’s been reunited with his grateful family and Duke isn’t even surprised.

“Hey, Duke. Can we talk?” she says, sitting down next to him – too close, always too close – without waiting for his answer.

“Sure Audrey, come on right in,” he mutters, sarcasm giving way to tiredness.

Sometimes Audrey is exhausting.

He’s uncomfortably aware of where she’s pressed against him – more so than usual, because now it’s just a reminder of yet another thing he can’t have – and silence settles between them as Audrey’s eyes wonder across the room mindlessly. If Duke didn’t know her better he would think that she was nervous but this is Audrey.

She’s fearless.

“Well?” he asks expectantly when she still hasn’t said anything. “What did you want to talk about?”

Audrey seems to shake herself and a determined look settles on her face, one that Duke’s familiar with. He mentally groans – whatever this is he doesn’t stand a chance.

“You and Nathan.”

Of course.

“Audrey…” There is a warning in Duke’s tone but she pays it no heed.

“Whatever happened between the two of you –”

“What, you mean Nathan accusing me of kidnapping you and then shooting me?” Duke snarks.

Audrey fixes him with a steely stare until he relents and gestures for her to go on.

“Nathan told me what happened when you came back to Haven.” Duke bites back a snort. Somehow he highly doubts that. “But I don’t think it’s all of it. Maybe you don’t want to talk to me about it but you have to talk with Nathan.”

“Why?”

Audrey pauses for a second, as if pondering whether to answer.

“It’s going to sound strange but I think he misses you. He cares about you.”

Duke snorts. “Well you got that right. It does sound strange.”

“And because you’re my friend and I’m asking you to.”

He shoots her a betrayed glare. That’s really not playing fair and he says as much. Her smile, while sympathetic, clearly says _Deal with it_.

“Duke?”

_Oh, that is just…great._

“Did you set this up?” Duke hisses at Audrey who turns big innocent eyes on him before calling out:

“Here Nathan.”

Duke spares a brief thought at how he and Audrey must look, cozied up together, but Nathan doesn’t even raise an eyebrow when he shuffles into the room looking all stoic and brave.

This is going to be a disaster.

“Why can’t you just let this go?” Duke asks with a hint of desperation and Audrey leans against him in a show of support.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed but things aren’t going too well for us in Haven. We’re a team, we’ve got to stick together. Trust each other,” she adds the last part with a pointed look at Nathan who nods back.

Duke pushes away from her and stands – he’s going to need a drink for this.

“Audrey, love,” he drawls, uncorking his trusty scotch bottle and pouring himself a finger – make that two –, “I hate to break it to you, but _we_ are not a team. There is you and Nathan, and there is me.”

“Yeah, the thing is, Duke,” she says, “we’ve talked about that and we don’t really believe that line anymore.”

“No, you mean you don’t believe it when it suits you,” Duke counters.

“Hey, it’s not like you’ve been perfect in this relationship either,” Nathan chimes in.

“And you’re one to talk!” Duke rounds on him. “You want to talk about trust? How about jumping to conclusions?”

“If you didn’t use everyone around you to get your way maybe I wouldn’t! But it’s all the same to you, isn’t it? Audrey, the Rev, me – as long as you get what you want, you don’t care about the rest of us, do you?”

Oh, that is so bloody typical!

“See!” Duke turns towards Audrey, gesturing towards Nathan with his drink. “That’s what I’m talking about. You always do that!” he adds to Nathan. “It’s always got to be one or the other with you, never both, and of course you always pick whatever answer is more convenient for you – fits into your view of things better.”

“I do not!” Nathan sputters as Duke stalks towards him, walking right into his personal space.

Nathan doesn’t even seem to notice.

“Of course you do!” Duke says, jabbing his finger into Nathan’s chest. He may not feel it but it makes Duke feel better. “It’s easier to think the worst of me than to think that I actually care about Audrey.”

“This has nothing to do with Audrey.”

“Oh really? Then maybe it’s easier for you to think that I would sleep with you because I want something from you rather than because I actually _want to_. Easier to run away then, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t –”

“Enough!”

Audrey’s raised voice makes them shut up and turn to look at her.

“You know,” she says idly, “retrospectively this makes so much sense.”

They blink at her.

“I mean, all that unresolved sexual tension –” she continues, “– that can lead to some pretty irrational behavior.”

Duke looks at Audrey adoringly. He kind of loves how her brain works. Because that does make kind of sense – Duke is just that hot. Doesn’t really make things better – Nathan is still an ass – but at least Duke can work with that.

Nathan though is sputtering next to him. “Me?” he protests, “what about _you_ and Duke?”

“What about me and Duke?”

Nathan raises a pointed eyebrow at her and Audrey colors a little.

Suddenly Duke isn’t sure what’s going on anymore. But you know, he’s nothing if not adaptable.

“Wait…” he says, interrupting their bickering. “Are you two fighting over me?”

“What?” “No!” They both protest and a slow smile blooms on Duke’s face.

This is going so much better than he thought it would.

“Okay…” He shrugs. “Just checking.” 

There is a pregnant pause during which Audrey and Nathan are _not_ looking at each other and Duke decides to just go for it. Nathan won’t and since Duke is obviously never going to get rid of the guy he might as well make it worth his while. They can sort out everything else as they go.

“And since we’re clearing the air here: Nathan, you’re an idiot. Darling, the mere _idea_ that anyone could corrupt you is completely ludicrous.”

Duke’s vaguely aware of Audrey’s snort in the background, a sound that turns a little strangled when Duke grabs Nathan and kisses him, swift and hard and determined.

“Hot,” Audrey contemplates and Duke lets a shell-shocked Nathan go to turn towards her.

“Audrey,” he says and she grins at him, “you are the greatest and I think I love you.”

Then he is kissing her too and she’s kissing back and he can’t help being a little flashy and bending her backwards. She laughs against his lips and he lets her dance away, back to Nathan to whom she gives a quick kiss.

Duke doesn’t mind so much anymore.

“Well I guess we all have plenty to think about now,” Duke says, “Trust, right?”

Audrey smiles widely. “How about breakfast tomorrow? I’ll cook.”

“Pancakes?” Nathan asks hopefully. He’s still looking a little dazed and he keeps rubbing his lips with his index finger. It’s a little distracting.

“Yes, Nathan, we know,” Duke says. “See you for breakfast then.”

He watches them leave and it doesn’t feel like it usually does, the two of them going off on their own and leaving him behind. It feels like he’s part of something – something better and bigger, and maybe he’s been in it for a while, he doesn’t know for sure. But now, he thinks, he _wants_ to be part of it.

Of course it’s not just up to him. He and Nathan haven’t resolved anything, not really, and Duke has no idea if they even can. The hurt is still there, and all those betrayed feelings he can see reflected in Nathan. They have to figure out how to be friends again before moving on from there. And Audrey is far from perfect too, too quick to take Nathan’s side over Duke’s and that’s just not going to work, not if this is going to go anywhere. 

And okay, maybe Duke has to work on a few things as well, like stop pretending he doesn’t give a damn about anything.

Yes, it’s going to take a lot of work but it’ll be worth it. Possibly frustrating and exhausting as well but worth it and for a few moments Duke allows some crazy irrational hope to get born, one that suddenly makes everything seem possible.

And for some reason he cannot stop smiling.

\---

When Duke first meets Audrey Parker he doesn’t actually know her name. Mostly because she’s drowning and he kind of has to jump and rescue her. 

When he gets around to knowing her better he finds her both oddly familiar and completely foreign. Nothing Haven throws at her seems to faze her for long and she just keeps showing up at Duke’s doorstep looking for help and answers.

The strangest thing is that Duke actually _likes_ Audrey. There is something about her, about her determination and dedication and stubbornness. About the way she makes Nathan relax and smile more. About the way she seems to believe in Duke, believe that he will do the right thing no matter the cost, when no one has ever paid close enough attention to realize he always does.

He can’t pretend with her because she sees right through him. At some point when he wasn’t looking she has slipped right past his defenses and now he can’t shake her off. It’s only fair then that he should see right through her as well. 

The irony of falling for a cop when he’s still half in love with her partner isn’t lost on Duke. It seems he has a new type. The kind who’s unavailable and can put him in jail.

Who knew?

It’s lucky for all of them that Audrey’s talent is helping troubled people. Whether she means to or not, somewhere along the way she ends up helping Duke and Nathan and _DukeandNathan_ about as much as they both end up helping her.

It’s not all puppies and rainbows – in fact it involves a lot of pain and blood and betrayals – but some say that they’re stronger for it.

Some also say that’s a load of crap and that they could have solved a lot of their problems by jumping into bed earlier.

But I guess we’ll never know.

\---

This is the story of a boy who meets another boy. 

This is the story of how they later meet a girl. She makes them better – and maybe they make her a little better in return too.

This is a love story.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at my livejournal.


End file.
